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Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Wraith Review

Wraith (Wraith #1)

By Angel Lawson

Published February 7th, 2012 by CreateSpace

266 pages

4 stars - Interesting Read!

Freak. Weird. Crazy. These are the names tossed around seventeen-year old Jane Watts by her fellow classmates. But things aren’t always as they seem. Sometimes there’s a reason for talking to yourself in the hallway at school.

Adjusting to her new home and school after an abrupt move, Jane just wants to be like everyone else at school. Although she does manage to make one friend, Evan — sixteen, charming and protective. Evan is everything a girl could want in a best friend, with one minor caveat: He’s dead.

Caught somewhere between life and death, Evan is tied to Jane and the living world, unable to complete the journey to the other side. She thinks he’s here to be her friend, to take care of her, and that’s why no one else can see or hear him.

That is, until a new boy shows up at school after a rumored stretch in juvie. Connor can see Evan and is not convinced that the ghost is completely honest. Past experience taught him how ghosts tend to need something from the humans they connect to and Evan, despite his arguments, isn’t any different.

Jane is resentful of Connor’s intrusion but soon realizes that her ghostly friend has secrets about his past. And now Evan's family, still reeling from his tragic death, is in danger. Jane must face her fears and battle Evan’s human demons to free both of them.

I picked up Wraith a couple days ago and thought that the topic of the book sounded pretty interesting. Now I haven't really read any ghost books or stories and so I didn't have anything to compare this to. I do know that Wraith isn't a scary ghost book or anything, its more about people who have been given the gift or curse to help deceased people accomplish what they didn't when they were alive.

Jane is considered a freak at school but then talking to yourself in the hallways might cause that kind of assumption. Jane isn't crazy or mentally ill but she can see ghosts or at the moment she can only see Evan. Evan is dead and Jane's current best friend. Nobody can see Evan though so that makes the two's relationship a little difficult at times, especially at school, until Connor comes along. Connor can see Evan and he claims that Evan has a hidden agenda but is it true?

So I found Wraith to be interesting and the idea of it was different from what I've been reading. I loved the characters, Jane, Evan, and Connor. I was able to feel for each of them and all their problems and at some points I even got a little teary eyed. I enjoyed the relationships between Jane and Evan and Jane and Connor as well. Wraith isn't just a ghost story, the whole reason for Evan's death is tragic and the whole idea of people who are able to help the dead is intriguing in a way. For a first book in a series I thought this one did pretty well and I'm excited to see that a second one is already out. I was able to bond with these characters and I loved how we were able to see each one of their stories. Wraith was a good book and one that I'd recommend I especially enjoyed the very last part and liked how there weren't too many questions left unanswered I look forward to reading the next book and hope that you find this one as enjoyable as I did.